10:00am Net Session
Still just trying to drill in my new trigger movement, I think slowly but surely is the right phrase to use! I had this session taped by our video analyst Phil Dicks, I want most of my batting sessions on video simply because there’s no reason why not. I’m at a great club with these facilities so why not use them.
12:00 noon Pilates
It all got a bit harder this week as we move on from learning how to breathe properly to some very tough core exercises! There’s a big dampener to this session compared to the first three though, Godders (Lee Goddard) has made the trip up from Bradford for today’s session and has swooped in and stolen my role as teachers pet! Today is our last session and I thought Emma did a great job with us, teaching us some great breathing techniques.
1:00pm Fitness
Not too bad today! Just a lap around the river, it’s something Mike’s keeping a track of as our time should improve each time we do it. It’s about a mile and a half and I’m pleased to say I improved my time from 12:17 to 11:59. But that Muchall beat me again, he got 11:40, he set an early pace I just couldn’t keep up with!
9:15am Boxing
Another enjoyable session! I was a little nervous going into this session as I’d hurt my right hand the week before and wasn’t sure how I’d pull up. I didn’t want it to look like I was scared of hurting a three stone black bag! As it happens, I came through it perfectly well. It’s just a shame I’m now struggling to hold my cup of coffee!!
11:30am Gym
A light weights session today as it’s supposed to be our ‘easy week’, Mike feels as though after three weeks of high intensity training, we need a recovery week. We’re not complaining!
2:00pm Net
My first net against a bowler, all be it Judge (2nd team coach Jon Lewis) coming off 16 yards! But he can bowl a mean in swinging yorker when he wants to! At this stage of the winter my aim is to get some consistency in what I’m trying to achieve. If I miss-time the ball or even miss it completely I’m not too worried, all I want at this stage is to feel as though the new trigger is coming along. There were signs of it from a couple of shots, but me being the perfectionist I am, that’s not good enough! However, Judge being the calming influence he is, reassures me that the important thing is that it’s getting there, so naturally I unwind and start to feel a lot better about it!
9:30am Net
I had a really good session today. I went straight into throw downs with Judge and found the consistency I was looking for. Not every ball was perfect, but it was a lot better than Wednesday. The real test though will be when I face proper bowlers trying to get me out!
10:30am Gym
So much for an easy week! Me and Godders were in today for what we thought was going to be a comfortable session, wrong! Circuits was the form of the day and it turned out to be very enjoyable, squats, bench presses, pull ups, shoulder press and bridges to finish, all one after the other. I went first and while I did that, Godders had to be on the rower doing 30 seconds on 30 seconds off. We each had to go through it twice each, so not a long session, but hard work!
11:30am Office
I had a quick meeting with Yvette, the clubs Marketing Manager, I’m trying to get a few of the lads to join me in the Great North Run in October to raise money for charity. It’s very much in the early stages at the moment but hopefully you’ll here more about it next summer!